Device for instructing downswing in golf swing

ABSTRACT

To provide a downswing assisting device in a golf swing 
     In order to increase one&#39;s hitting force, since power is generated by the stretching and the contraction of muscles, by making a difference in the returning from being twisted of the upper and lower limbs, the timing of the returning from being twisted of the trunk is important and hence, the present technique adjusts the timing of the downswing for each player separately and conducts the downswing.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an exercise instructing device which uses computer software for the timing of the downswing in a golf swing and measures the swing with sensors and analyzes it by computer to conduct the swing, and in the golf swing which is performed by starting from the backswing after addressing the ball and continuing through the downswing, a part of the kinetic energy generated by the returning from being twisted of the upper and lower limbs and a part of the potential energy generated from the gravitation field when a golf club is swung down are applied to the ball from the club head according to the cumulative adding of forces, and energy applied to a ball at impact is defined by the physical properties of the club, the ball and physical law and hence, it is impossible to artificially control the energy and hence, a technique to obtain maximum swing efficiency is required and, accordingly, the exercise instructing device assists the user in a hitting exercise implementing information processing technology which uses information input by means of motion perception by adjusting the timing of the swing to start with the lower limbs while the upper limbs are in the vicinity of the top of the swing using sensors, a microcomputer and variable resistors individually for each player.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional golf swing training machines include machines which conduct the downswing (for example, see patent document 1), machines which provide a ball hitting action training machine to obtain stability in hitting (for example, see patent document 2) and in addition, as “action analyzing training machines”, machines disclosed in patent document 3 which, as “action training machines”, photograph the player's form, etc. with a camera and allow the player to correct his/her form by recognizing differences between his/her own form and the ideal form by repeating slow-motion replay, stop-motion replay, etc., and also such a method as disclosed in the publication of patent document 4 has been developed, in which the player's golf swing form is photographed with a camera and, while tracking a specific part of the player's body, for example, the center of the forehead, as a target using pattern recognition, a wave pattern of the trajectory and a video image of the swing form are synthesized and the synthesized image is displayed, and correcting training machines are disclosed in the publication of patent documents 5, 6, etc.

Patent Document

-   1. Japan published unexamined application 1994-238025 -   2. Japan published unexamined application 1994-63209 -   3. Japan published unexamined utility model application 1989-101572 -   4. Japan published unexamined application 1991-295574 -   5. Japan published unexamined application 1991-12182 -   6. Japan published unexamined application 1996-173586 -   Non-patent document “Sensor-Internet Technology changes Future     Sports Coaching” by Yuji Ohgi, Associate Professor, Keio University

Training products include “Swing Magic” (trademark), “Tempo Master Driver” (trademark, product of M.I.T. Inc.), “Power Max Fitness Swing Machine” (trademark), “Medicus” (trademark, product of Robert Golf Company), “V603SH/golf played by swinging mobile phone” (product of Vodafone-SHARP), “SUUNTO G6 PRO/wristwatch-shaped swing measuring device” (trademark, product of SUUNTO), “Smart Swing” (trademark), “Wii” (trademark, product of Nintendo Co., Ltd.), etc., and the present patent relates to a technique in which computer software instructs separately to start the downswing with the lower limbs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

All descriptions of the basics of a golf swing, golf being a ball hitting exercise, are based on the premise of right-handed hitting, however, it is possible to apply the basics of the golf swing to left-handed hitting by reversing left and right, and the golf swing is started by grasping the grip of a golf club which is uniformly performed by uniting both hands with a feeling of harmony, and it is important that the gripping force is controlled with sensitive feeling about the weight of the club and the movement of the club head, since the hands are an important part which has a large significance as a function of the brain so that, in the golf swing, it is necessary to consistently control the movement of the hands, and the main point in addressing the ball is to have a calm, comfortable, relaxed feeling, and with respect to the posture at that time, it is important to form the posture with which the swing can be smoothly performed without continuous strain attributed to overstraining the muscles, with respect to the player, the player has to perform the golf swing freely under self-control by maintaining a state that he/she is sensitive to external stimuli and keeping alert in such a manner that he/she can quickly move to any direction, and with respect to the position of the head, in addressing the ball, the player slightly turns the head to the right and puts his/her chin down and, when the player holds the head in this position, the club can be swung back with relaxed muscles of both shoulders and arms and all energy is used for hitting before the head returns to the front by rotating thus conducting an effective golf stroke, and when the backswing is started, there are no conspicuous independent actions of both hands and wrists, however, when there is sufficient bending in the wind-up in which the club is brought back in the direction opposite to the target line, gripping by the left hand is slightly tightened and the golf club is moved toward the top while pushing up the golf club backward with the left side and the left arm is sufficiently conducted, tense feeling is generated in the left upper limbs, that is, the left side upper portion from the leftwaist to the left shoulder, the left arm and hand, and when the posture of the top swing is formed, the weight of the club head and the inertia of the club head apply a slight pulling feeling to both hands thus prompting the full bending of both wrists, and in the golf swing, energy is suitably taken out from the body by making use of reaction energy from the soles of both feet which support the body weight, the body weight at address is evenly divided into both feet and is concentrated on the inner side of the bulge at the root of the first toe of the left foot and the inner side of the right foot at the top of the swing, and during the swing, the right knee is held as still as possible and the center of gravity shifted to the right side is received by the right hip joint, and what assures high efficiency in golf is a proper use of the left arm and, the more straight the left arm stretches, the larger the circular arc of the backswing becomes and it is possible to make the same trajectory every time this is repeated and hence, straightly-stretched left arm is a factor of good form which also contributes to the speed of the club head, accurate contact on the ball, and the consistency of the action, and although it is unavoidable to have a slightly bent arm when the left arm can not stretch straight, it is important, as far as the left arm is concerned, the left arm should not bend when hitting, and when the left arm can fully stretch sufficiently at the top of the swing, it is supposed that the left arm can be straight when the downswing is started from the backswing, and in a golf swing, the important action is to start the downswing by uncoiling the lower limbs toward the left side, and when the left waist does not lead the down stroke, no power is generated in the swing and the swing lacks accuracy as well as consistency and, no matter how perfect the backswing is, when both hands, both arms or both shoulders lead in starting the downswing, the swing becomes a so-called “hand hit swing” and the club immediately loses the leading role of the movement of the whole body and the benefit of the power supposed to be supplied from the muscles of the waist and the back is also lost, and when this happens, the club is left up in the air and results in the “hand hit swing” which is manipulated by both hands and arms and lacks stability and efficient combination with consistency, and accordingly, since the down stroke, which is important in the downswing, is lead by the uncoiling of the trunk by starting the downswing with the return of both waists, the left side again becomes a focal issue and, when the downswing is perfectly conducted by the potential power in the muscles of the legs and the back, there should be a pulling or stretching feeling in the upper limbs and the whole arm to the grip end of the golf club from the left side and, when the full swing is correctly performed while both hands and the club are still advancing backward, the uncoiling of the trunk, lead by the lower limbs, is started from the left side, and this order of motions has an effect of achieving two important results, and one of the results is that the basic factors, which lead the down stroke, are to start from the left foot and to return the waist to the left side, and these factors generate power used in the form of the kinetic momentum of the club head by the reverse twisting of the body, and the other result is an effect of completing the cocked wrist which is completed with the wrist forming a bent shape as the result of both waists withdrawn to one direction and the club head moved in the opposite direction, and while feeling that the club head is left at the top when the downswing is started, the return of both waists is very quick, and the return of both waists, which reverses the rotation toward the ball, is started before the club is swung backward and arrives at the end point in such a manner that the left leg starts to stretch straight and the left heel is returned to the ground before the downswing, while both hands are positioned at the height of the shoulders or the above the shoulders, and accordingly, the present invention is made to specify the timing from the backswing to immediately before the top swing and to inform the timing of the downswing to the player so that, at the timing, the lower limbs lead the downswing while the upper limbs form the top of the swing thus realizing a powerful downswing by the returning from being twisted of the upper and lower limbs about the trunk.

The present invention informs the starting of the downswing at the appropriate time based on the basic golf swing in which the difference in the returning from being twisted is made by twisting the trunk with the upper limbs forming the “top swing posture” and the lower limbs leading to start the downswing and this action causes the stretching and the contraction of muscles to generate power, and the start of the lower limbs is informed before sufficiently twisting the upper limbs whereby the downswing can be performed at the effective time.

The followings are average values for several categories obtained by comparing the golf swings performed by professional players and amateur players.

-   -   Average necessary time from start of swing to impact         -   Professional players: 1.07 seconds         -   Advanced amateur players: 1.28 seconds         -   Average players: 1.45 seconds     -   Average necessary time from start of swing to start of downswing         -   Professional players: 0.81 seconds         -   Advanced amateur players: 0.94 seconds         -   Average players: 1.03 seconds     -   Average necessary time from start of downswing to impact         -   Professional players: 0.26 seconds         -   Advanced amateur players: 0.34 seconds         -   Average players: 0.42 seconds

Professional golfers execute the basic golf swing, and there is a certain agreeableness realized in the tempo of the backswing and the downswing performed by the professional golfers, and normally in a professional swing, the lower limbs start the downswing prior to the formation of the “top swing posture” by the golf club, and the time from start to finish of a golf swing takes approximately 1.5 seconds for professional players and approximately 2 seconds for amateur players, and the time from the downswing to the impact takes less than 25% of the total time of the swing for professional players and in the vicinity of 30% for amateur players, and accordingly, amateur players whose swings are slow also generate a small impact force, and the difference between the impact force of amateur players and that of professional players is large, and this is caused by a “hand hit swing” by amateur players who cannot make the effective impact, while professional players, efficient in linking their arms and legs in motion to perform a power swing using the trunk, fully utilize the club with the time balance from start to impact being 75% for the backswing and 25% for the downswing to impact, and in the present invention, this balance is adjusted to individual characteristics to perform the swing at the timing immediately before the top is formed from the start of the downswing, that is, the professional player starts the lower limbs at the timing that the body weight is shifted to the pivoting foot and the upper limbs going above the lower limbs to approach the top from the posture where the arms are positioned at parallel level half-way back, then the upper limbs form the top through inertia, and the device, according to the present invention, obtains this timing by measuring the backswing using an angular velocity sensor or an acceleration sensor and informs the start of the downswing to the player, and in addition, the acceleration sensor picks up noise, and it is necessary to process this to differentiate the static state and the dynamic state, and it is important for the user to understand this problem, and reporting to the player is setup so that there can be either a physical or physiological stimulation, and through this means of instruction to inform the player about the predetermined timing in golf swings, the downswing is started with the body swing in which the shifting of the body weight to the left lower limb consisting of the left foot and left waist using the trunk as an axis, that is, the lower limbs start the downswing and the arms which constitute the upper limbs form the “top swing posture”, and using the trunk through this twisting phenomenon in which power is generated by the upper and lower limbs pulling each other in the opposite directions, head speed is increased whereby a golf swing can be realized at a favorable timing, and this technique is very difficult and important, and to start the downswing with the lower limbs naturally causes the delay of the club head, and the power of the trunk, which is the center of the body having large power, is added sequentially with the speed, etc., and is transmitted thus increasing the energy and the speed of the fingers, which are the terminating portions having small power, and with this technique, the downswing can be started maintaining energy in the head while feeling that the club head is left at top in starting the downswing and that the club shaft is used like a whip, and in starting the downswing, when the lower limbs start while maintaining the cocked wrist which is formed at the top, the club shaft naturally goes down in the longitudinal direction, and both arms are dropped in front of the chest whereby a logical golf swing following the force of the gravity can be performed, and in order to efficiently use the rotational energy of the body including the golf club, by maintaining a small angle of cocked wrists, the swing is performed in a suppressing manner as much as possible until impact, thus executing a logical body swing following physical characteristics and physical laws whereby a logical golf swing incorporating the basic technique can be executed.

According to the present invention, looking at the logical movement of the trunk in the hitting exercise, the use of the upper and lower limbs is introduced from the swing data at the professional level whereby the movement is complemented and improved, and the swing is sped up, and while the lower limbs start the downswing immediately before the top of the swing, the upper limbs approach the top through inertia and hence, it is also necessary to enhance the speed, and the flow of the swing is maintained and an effective vector flow toward the downswing is made, and the golf swing effectively utilizes the energy generated by an adverse movement of the upper and lower limbs, and the action to hit the ball is notional, and when the way of thinking that to hit a ball which is in a motionless state by consciously approaching the ball is not improved, technical differences occur and hence, to cast aside the way of thinking of consciously approaching the ball, it is preferable to improve the way of thinking when the player is young, and a lower limb starting device corrects and improves the “hand hit swing”, and in the golf swing performed by shifting the center of gravity and by the rotational movement in a posture where the player stands upright on two feet with the back bone as a longitudinal axis, the adverse twisting of the upper limbs and lower limbs is a difficult technique, and accordingly, the timing immediately before the upper limbs form the “top swing posture” is specified in such a manner that the movement of the upper limbs is detected when the backswing is started with the body weight equally distributed to both feet at the start and then, the weight distribution to both feet is shifted to the pivoting foot half-way back and the preparation for starting the lower limbs is finished, and an instructing device is mounted on the vicinity where the lower limbs start or where they easily start and an “instructing means” informs the timing of the downswing by vibration and/or vibration and sound and indicates how to use the lower limbs so that the action from the start of the swing to the top takes 0.8 to 1 seconds and the action from the downswing to impact takes 0.3 to 0.5 seconds, and informing of the timing is conducted either by the golf club or by a technique which mounts a magnetic moving object on the golf club which is moved apart due to the magnetic reaction at the backswing and informs the timing of the downswing, and when the downswing is started with the lower limbs, the club head moves in the opposite direction and the wrist takes a bending shape at the top position and while maintaining the cocked wrists of both arms at the start of the downswing and the golf club feeling that the club head is left at the top, both arms and the golf club are dropped in front of the body and swung with the grip end nearing the trunk, the swing being performed as fast as possible aiming for the time from downswing to impact to be 0.4 seconds or less thus realizing a golf swing using twisting of the trunk by effectively making use of the upper and lower limbs.

Although only some exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciated that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention.

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-26821 filed Nov. 27, 2009 including specification, drawings and claims is incorporated herein by reference in its entire.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a downswing detection circuit diagram specified for the Angular velocity sensor.

FIG. 2 is a downswing detection circuit diagram specified for the Acceleration sensor.

FIG. 3 is Angular velocity sensor of detection connection diagram.

FIG. 4 is reception detection connection diagram.

FIG. 5 is Acceleration sensor of detection connection diagram.

FIG. 6 is sensor control of the Flowchart.

FIG. 7 is configuration diagram of the sensor portion Acceleration sensor.

FIG. 8 is measurer/controller configuration diagram.

Microcomputer/Serial Communications IC/Variable Resistor

FIG. 9 is Diagram obtained by measuring the movement of a golf swing by the acceleration sensor and, when the obtained data is made into a graph, similar waveforms can be constantly depicted in the graph, with the graph showing the state where after shifting to a dynamic state, the value is decreased first, is increased next, is decreased again and, further is increased again.

FIG. 10 is Y-axis waveform chart of the golf swing.

FIG. 11 is X-axis waveform chart of the golf swing.

FIG. 12 is Z-axis waveform chart of the golf swing.

FIG. 13 is An illustration showing that a vibration device which informs the start of the lower limbs is mounted on the body and the timing to start the lower limbs is informed through the sensor.

FIG. 14 is Diagram showing the rotation of the waist with a Waist Band which incorporates the sensor to detect the shifting movement of the upper and lower limbs and an illustration showing that the sensor which detects the shifting movement is mounted at the X positions of the upper and lower limbs and the start of the lower limbs is instructed at the timing that the upper limbs go above the lower limbs and immediately before the upper limbs form the “top swing position”.

FIG. 15 is Flowcharts separately provided for respective classes from top professional players to beginners.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is said that there are a great variety of golf swings of professional players as well as amateur players, however, when data are analyzed, professional players perform the swing at similar timing while amateur players perform the swing at incoherent timings in comparison with professional players, and the difference between professional players and amateur players is obvious, and accordingly, the present invention is made for a player to learn the basic downswing and to correct his/her mistakes, and it is distinguished in that the player is informed of the timing for when to start the lower limbs after the back swing is started, the upper limbs form the “top swing posture” and the timing to start the lower limbs is specified adjusting to individual players, and using sensor which detects the movement of the upper limbs, the start of the lower limbs immediately before the top swing and/or at the top swing is instructed, and the swing movement is instructed in association with physical law.

In order to bring a “hand hit swing”, which is said to be a bad habit of amateur players, closer to the basic swing by checking the swing of the player to confirm differences with the basic swing, the timing that the downswing is started in the swing starting from the backswing is estimated and the swing is measured by an angular velocity sensor and/or an acceleration sensor to detect the timing of the start of the lower limbs, and the timing is informed, and with respect to the movement of the upper and lower limbs in the downswing, the upper limbs become parallel to the ground half-way back, the lower limbs stop while receiving the shift of the body weight at the inner side of the right foot heel and, thereafter, the upper limbs approach the “top swing posture” through inertia, the lower limbs start at that same timing and the waist is returned, and in this manner, the downswing is performed at the timing of the start of the lower limbs which is instructed by a sensor system, resulting in the ability to make the logical swing at the professional level and instruction of the basic exercise can be performed by the timings of the instructing device which can be individually set for each player.

The downswing instructing device is a technology which realizes a complicated and difficult swing, and a technique highly sought after since action performed by twisting the upper and lower limbs in other ball-hitting exercises such as baseball, tennis, volleyball, etc., is an important and difficult action, and in the present invention, the swing is grasped as an exercise action free from existent conception, and teaches a player the basic exercise element for generating kinetic energy and also, in view of the kinesiology, the application of the present invention in the medical field is duly considered, and the down swing instructing device is an exercise instructing device which improves the functional effect of the hitting exercise.

-   -   Angular Velocity Sensor of lower limbo attached file. 

1-21. (canceled)
 22. A start timing instructing device for informing a player of a body start timing for downswing in a golf swing, the device comprising: a sensor attachable to a golf club, a wrist, or a waist of the player and configured to detect changes in angle and/or acceleration associated with a backswing movement of the player; an A/D convertor which converts the detected angle and/or acceleration changes to a signal data; a variable resistor which sets a start timing associated with a predetermined angle and/or acceleration data and which has a volume through which the set start timing is adjustable; a microprocessor configured to calculate an angle and or acceleration data of the backswing movement based on the signal data received from the A/D convertor and to generate a start timing instruction if the calculated angle and/or acceleration data meet the angle and/or acceleration data which have been set and adjusted through the variable resistor and the volume; and a stimulator attachable to the player and configured to generate a vibration, sound or electric stimulation upon receiving the start timing instruction from the microprocessor to inform the player of the body start timing for the downswing.
 23. The downswing start liming instructing device according lo claim 22, wherein the sensor comprises at least one of an angle velocity sensor, an acceleration sensor, and an angle and acceleration sensor.
 24. The downswing start timing instructing device according to claim 22, wherein the device further comprises a wristwatch-type device attachable to the wrist of the player, and wherein the wristwatch-type device has at least one of an angle velocity sensor, an acceleration sensor, and an angle and acceleration sensor.
 25. The downswing start timing instructing device according to claim 22, wherein the microprocessor is configured to execute a computer program list (A), (B) and/or (C) described in the specification.
 26. The downswing start timing instructing device according to claim 22, wherein the start timing is adjustable through the variable resistor so as to instruct the player to start the body movement toward the downswing immediately before the player finishes the backswing.
 27. The downswing start timing instructing device according to claim 22, wherein the stimulator is a vibrator attachable to a thigh of the player to stimulate the thigh with the vibration so as to instruct the player to start the body movement from the lower body of the player.
 28. The downswing start timing instructing device according to claim
 22. wherein the stimulator receives the start timing instruction from the microprocessor via a wireless communication between the stimulator and the microprocessor.
 29. A method of informing a player of a body start timing for downswing in a golf swing, the method comprising: attaching a sensor to a golf club, a wrist, or a waist of the player to detect changes in angle and/or acceleration associated with a backswing movement of the player; converting the detected angle and/or acceleration changes to a signal data; calculating an angle and/or acceleration data of the backswing movement based on the signal data; setting a start timing associated with an predetermined angle and/or acceleration data by a variable resistor; adjusting the set start timing through a volume of the variable resistor; generating a start timing instruction if the calculated angle and/or acceleration data meet the angle and/or acceleration data which have been set and adjusted through the variable resistor and the volume; attaching a stimulator to the player; and controlling the stimulator to generate a vibration, sound or electric stimulation upon receiving the start timing instruction to inform the player of the body start timing for the downswing.
 30. The method according to claim 29, at least one of at least one of an angle velocity sensor, an acceleration sensor, and an angle and acceleration sensor is attached to the player as said sensor.
 31. The method according to claim 29, wherein the sensor is attached to the wrist of the player.
 32. The method according to claim 29, wherein the method comprises executing a computer program list (A), (B) and/or (C) disclosed in the specification.
 33. The method according to claim 29, wherein the body start timing is adjusted to instruct the player to start the body movement immediately before the player finishes the backswing.
 34. The method according to claim 29, wherein the stimulator is attached to a thigh of the player to stimulate the thigh with the vibration so as to start the body movement from the lower body of the player.
 35. The method according to claim 29, wherein the start timing instruction is sent to the stimulator via a wireless communication. 